Why Domenica Heller Will Never Leave the Oil and Gas Industry

Find Out What Drew Her to the Industry, Her Favorite Project, and More

Domenica Heller, Director of Construction Management and Inspection at System One, graciously took time out of her day to discuss the oil and natural gas industry with us. As an industry veteran, we often leverage Domenica’s expertise when it comes to starting the conversation on energy infrastructure.

Domenica has been with System One for nearly nine years. A true devotee of the oil and gas industry, she has openly stated she’ll never leave the industry – or System One. Watch the interview below to find out why.

Can’t watch the video? Scroll below for a transcript.

0:14 – Domenica, hello! If you could, please let everyone know what you do at System One, how long you’ve been with us, all that kind of fun stuff.

0:22 – Domenica Heller: I have been with System One for almost ten years and my division is the CM&I division, which is Construction Management and Inspection. Typically, that’s pipelines, facilities – work out in the field.

0:45 – Has that been your entire career in oil and gas, or were you in the industry prior to System One?

0:51 – Domenica Heller: I’ve been in oil and gas since I was fresh out of high school. My career has stayed on one trajectory, so to speak.

1:01 – What exactly drew you to the industry?

1:06 – Domenica Heller: There are many answers I could give to that. I would say oil and gas – anybody that works with folks in this field, they will tell you that it’s a diverse crowd, but I would say the grit of the people that we work for and with, there’s just something about it that you can’t duplicate anywhere else. I love the people, I love the hard work. It’s a very rewarding career.

1:38 – Pipeline integrated services – for someone who’s not in the industry, can be a little confusing. Can you explain, in your own words, what that is?

1:49 – Domenica Heller: A company will construct, let’s say, a pipeline for example. They’ll hire a company like System One to come in and inspect the work being done. Essentially, we’re overseeing environmental – everything from the management level down – to ensure that the project is being built correctly, and safely, most importantly.

2:10 – Just to expand a little bit on that – environmental, as in just making sure you guys are following environmental guidelines, or…?

2:15 – Domenica Heller: It’s a wide variety of work to be done. For every aspect of everything being done on the pipeline, there’s a different niche for each phase of work being done. The coating, the welding – we have folks out there monitoring and inspecting the work.

2:39 – Without naming names, what’s your favorite project of all time, and why?

2:48 – Domenica Heller: We had a project in West Virginia a few years back: Utica Access. West Virginia had experienced a flood unlike any other in their history, and our folks were right in the center of it. We had a lot of devastation in the area. We completed the project on time and under budget, but more importantly, the folks that worked for us and represented us down there really took a stance on giving back to the community, even when they had lost a lot themselves. It was just a moment for me that I, at the end of the day, could say I was proud to be a part of. Still am.

3:34 – Amazing. What exactly was the project there? What did we do for the client?

3:40 – Domenica Heller: We were working on a facility, and a little bit of pipeline in the area.

3:46 – Gotcha. We’re obviously biased, but why should a client contract us for their next pipeline inspection or new construction project?

3:57 – Domenica Heller: In my earlier years, one of my mentors taught me a very valuable lesson that I would say I take with me all of the time. He would say that no one is gonna call somebody out to work that they don’t trust and enjoy working with. I think this is something that we live by. We stand by our quality. We take a lot of pride in what we do as a whole at System One, in all of the work that we do throughout the country. I think we have a lot of pride in what we do and I think that we care a lot about the people that work for us. I think that a client can trust us to get things done, and the folks that have been with us have been with us for years and there’s a reason why. Our partnership with our clients, it becomes almost – I don’t want to say a family atmosphere, but you have that connection where they can call you at any time. They know that you’re going to get it done, and we stand by what we say. We employ some of the most talented, hard-working, and knowledgeable people in our field that are out there today. We trust in their capabilities and we put our name onto the work, essentially, and stand by what we do. The quality, I would say, is our biggest attribute.

5:29 – I’ve been noticing that. I’ve been with System One now for about a year and a half and it’s just been super impressive the retention we have here. Everybody that’s been here is a lifer at this point. It’s really cool.

5:43 – Domenica Heller: We have that ‘family first, work hard, be driven, and everyone is a team’ mentality. You know, you can say that, but to live it is another thing. For me personally, same way. I’ll never work for anyone else.

6:02 – That’s so cool to hear! And my last question for you. Can you tell us a little bit about our Quality Solutions offerings when it comes to oil and gas?

6:10 – Domenica Heller: We can supply folks and put teams in the field, as I said, to do anything for construction management, project management-level down to admins and coordinators, things of this nature. System One, as a whole, obviously has people all over the country in 50+ offices performing multiple areas of business. With oil and gas, we can provide anything engineering/project management-related, like field coordinators, welding, coating, safety professionals. We develop our own training programs for our people as well. System One, right now, is the 3^rd largest engineering staffing firm in the country and we are not limited by any means to any area of oil and gas that could need us.

About System One

System One delivers specialized workforce solutions and integrated services. We help clients get work done more efficiently and economically, without compromising quality. For more than 40 years, we’ve built our reputation on exceptional talent, flexible delivery, and full accountability. System One’s national network spans energy, engineering, IT, commercial, scientific & clinical, legal, marketing, and beyond. System One is based in Pittsburgh, PA.